Democratic Club
by Mary Larson
LW contributor
Conservative former federal judge J. Michael Luttig was one of two witnesses who testified during the most recent session of televised hearings currently taking place in Congress. He ended his remarks with a warning that there remains “a clear and present danger to American democracy” even 17 months after the attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
In the midst of viewing these hearings, the Democratic Club reminds club members and supporters that it is still important to be aware of what happened in the Orange County Primary Elections, and what that means for the General Election in November.
Many pundits continue to say that Orange County voters will again play a key role in national politics in November.
Although there are now 73,000 more Democrats than Republicans among the 1,809,773 registered voters in Orange County, only 35% of OC’s potential voters actually voted in the Primary. Once again, the percent of voters in Leisure World far exceeded that of voters in the rest of the county. It ranged from 60.46-64.91%, depending upon the precinct. These are significant numbers since there are 7,068 registered voters in Leisure World. It is also good news that all six OC Congressional District candidates endorsed by the Democratic Party of OC will go forward to compete in the General Election. Only one of these candidates—LW’s District 47 candidate Katie Porter—received more that 50% of the vote in the Primary. It will not be known until November as to whether or not all of six Democratic candidates will represent Orange County voters in Congress next year. However, the LW Democratic Club has already started making plans along with the other Democratic clubs in the county to get out the vote in the General Election. Special attention will be paid to the importance of reaching the No Prefrerred Party voters. How they vote will be critical in Asif Mahmood’s District 40, Jay Chen’s District 45 and Mike Levin’s District 49, as well as in Porter’s campaign in the new District 47.
The club also supports a California Constitutional Amendment that will likely be on the November ballot. The proposed amendment would codify existing California laws that relate to women’s ability to choose their own future. The amendment must clear the state Legislature by a two-thirds vote by June 30 in order to be in the 2022 General Election ballot.
California already has some of the most expansive abortion laws in the country. The proposed amendment is one of 14 proposals now moving through the Legislature that would strengthen and expand access to women’s health care, including abortion. It has a good chance of passing. Among likely California voters, 76% oppose overturning Roe v. Wade, according to an April survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.
